My own experiences of childhood and education were a big motivation for me in choosing to study at Birmingham. I was passionate about building on those past experiences by exploring the field from an academic perspective and gaining as much knowledge as I could on subjects such as children at risk and safeguarding. 

Why did you choose Birmingham?

As an adult student, I needed a university that was local but also one that would challenge my academic thinking and allow me to develop my knowledge and skill set by critically exploring subjects within the field of childhood and education. The University of Birmingham is well known to deliver high quality learning, the experience of the course lecturers; course modules offered and the opportunities/support available to students made the decision to attend this University an easy one.

Describe your current role and organisation

I am currently the Director of Safeguarding/ Safeguarding Lead and Mentoring Scheme Co-Ordinator at Our Place Support CIC. We provide accredited mentoring support to primary aged children who may be experiencing some difficulties in their lives. We support children with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation; those that are at risk of abuse or are living in foster care; children who have experienced a loss or bereavement or those who need some guidance managing their emotions.

My role sees me recruit, train and manage a large team of both paid and volunteer mentors; allocating referrals; dealing with safeguarding concerns;  liaising with funders and partners; community based networking and creating issue based one to one and group work resources that are delivered in schools around Birmingham.

I also write and facilitate CPD Accredited Safeguarding based training including courses on Child Abuse Linked to Faith and Belief, Child Sexual Exploitation, Safeguarding Awareness and Female Genital Mutilation. I deliver these courses to local schools and community/voluntary based organisations. 

Tell us about your career journey from Birmingham student to where you are today

I started at Our Place Support as part of the 2-week work placement in the second year of my BA. After my placement ended, I decided to stay on as a volunteer to continue to gain experience of working with children and young people. At that time, the project was in its early stages, led by our CEO with a small number of mentors.

Over the years the demand for our mentoring services grew and the organisation itself has expanded significantly. I have been lucky enough to be a significant part of the operational and strategic development of the organisation. One of my greatest achievements so far is a creating an intervention on the issue of Child Sexual Exploitation that has been delivered to thousands of primary school children within the North Birmingham area.